This invention relates generally to vehicle tailgates and, more particularly, to a tailgate ramp system for providing convenient access to a pickup bed and safe loading/unloading of all-terrain or similar vehicles.
Loading ramps for vehicles have been in use for years. A conventional loading ramp includes an elongate rigid structure that extends or is extensible between the vehicle and a ground surface at an angle for loading an ATV, lawnmower, or the like.
Various devices have been proposed in the art for loading wheeled vehicles, such as ATV's, into the bed of a pickup. Examples of patented proposals include U.S. Pat. No. 5,312,149 to Boone; U.S. Pat. No. 5,536,058 to Otis; U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,335 to Johns; U.S. Pat. No. 4,750,777 to Brammer; U.S. Pat. No. 5,540,474 to Holland; U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,594 to Harper; U.S. Pat. No. 5,803,523 to Clark et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 2,806,735 to Smith; U.S. Pat. No. 399,468 to Lund et al.; U.S. Pat. No. 5,816,638 to Pool, III; U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,437 to Gerulf; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,725 to Cole.
Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing devices occupy a significant amount of storage space within the pickup bed or, perhaps, are too long for the bed and must be propped up on the pickup's tailgate. Another problem with existing devices is that the ramps or other cargo are not easily accessible when the conventional pickup tailgate is in a closed configuration. A still further problem is that conventional ramps are unstable and may fall or become misaligned while loading/unloading an ATV.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a tailgate ramp system that incorporates a pair of ramp units in a split tailgate configuration so as to allow convenient pickup bed access when the ramp units are not being used for loading or unloading. Further, it is desirable to have a tailgate ramp system that provides quick and eassy conversion of the tailgate sections into extendable ramp sections when loading/unloading of an ATV is desired.